Hello all. I have tried jumping, q-tips(even though I know it's horrible), tugging on the ear while jumping and even trying to shake it out with my finger. These are some of the remedies I've found online. I know there's swimmer's ear solution at the pharmacy, but this is only about 1/2 hour old. I saw reference to alcohol, but are there any negative aspects to this and if not, how much.
Thank you in advance!
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
you can try regular 70% rubbing alcohol, it normally works in a pinch to break the surface tension.
The stuff at the pharmacy is about 98% alcohol with a touch of glycerine and/or a dab of citric acid to neutralize the ear pH.
It is possible to make your own solution, adding a couple drops of vinegar and glycerine that approximates the commercial stuff.
However for a single isolated incident, I'd go with regular rubbing alcohol, rather than buying the swimmers ear stuff fromt he store. If you need to repeat the process frequently enough to worry about your ear drying out, then you get the commercial stuff. But if you aren't on a swim team or a lifeguard, regular alcohol just once shoouldn't have much of a drying effect.
AJ
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
You can go for just vinegar, too-- straight vinegar works sometimes. Get it warm first. (I'm allergic to rubbing alcohol and can't use the other stuff. I also have OME that recurs frequently.)